History

Origin of the Gods

The Gods were born in the Divine Realm, an intangible, dreamlike realm of Celestial Aether where consciousness coalesces and expands when given enough time. Like primal creatures craving resources, their minds instinctively evolved from the earliest concepts they could comprehend. This led to strong archetypal natures that inevitably crystallized their dominance within their chosen domains.

As their lucidity expanded, they discovered others like them. They also discovered the terrestrial realm, Gaia, a world capable of tangible permanence, separated by a dimensional veil. Unlike their world of fleeting change, actions in Gaia had long-term consequences and impact. Power was crystallized into materials and unique beings with peculiar abilities. The Gods could temporarily recreate some of its mechanics in their Divine Realm, but it was too easy to accidentally ruin and trigger unwanted, cascading side effects. It couldn't sustain such rigid physical concepts.

Thanatos, the God most capable of understanding the veil, helped the Gods to understand the barriers that kept them apart from their physical nature.

The First Age

In the First Age, the veil that separated the Divine Realm from Gaia was very thin and Prana could be channeled much more freely. The Gods discovered how to influence Gaia directly from their realm. Celestia, Aedron, and Sutra learned to manipulate matter through the veil. Thanatos learned how to manifest in a noncorporeal form, soon joined by other Gods. Religions worshipping Thanatos quickly spread throughout Aetheron, soon joined by other Gods as they learned to manifest.

The emergence of deities led to a radical reshaping of world powers. Decisions as impactful as wars were often started based on the whims of Gods who had a very foreign and poor understanding of physical existence. Lyra was the first to choose a spiritual form that reflected her favored mortal race. Each God in turn drew similar inspiration from Gaia and took forms that resonated with their nature.

Fascinated by Gaian existence, the Gods grew increasingly involved, living vicariously through mortal triumphs and failures. Despite many catastrophic and consequential failures during this age, the Gods also performed many miracles; the creation of beautiful wonders, the production of magnificent artifacts, and even the evolution of new races and creatures.

The Second Age

Thanatos theorized that physical passage could be achieved in Gaia with the right conditions. Lexica and Sutra agreed with the assessment. They worked together to open a rift and produce a vessel for Varga's consciousness to occupy.

The Second Age began when Varga, God of Beasts, became the first God to appear in Gaia with a physical form. It became known as the Age of Gods. The physical arrival of the Gods led to both miracles and mayhem. Some Gods came to guide and inspire. Others indulged dangerous whims. A few pursued hidden agendas that sowed seeds of discord.

Kratos, the God of Conquest, was consumed by his insatiable desire to control and conquer. Joined by Valkyrie, he clashed fiercely with the other civilizations and their Gods, especially with Varga, Pyros, and Tempest. Kratos ignited brutal conflicts that scarred the lands, destroying old kingdoms and raising new ones under his banner. Many Gods were forced into conflicts they did not want, banding together or fleeing to better circumstances. Others retaliated with equal ferocity, swearing to defend their territories.

Meanwhile, the connection between the Divine Realm and Gaia was beginning to weaken. Their access to Prana was slowly draining, and with it many of the transitional powers they enjoyed. The change was cause for alarm, but insufficient to dissuade Kratos and his allies. Adonis, the God of Fate, issued dire warnings to Kratos that he must temper his divine hubris or the world would befall great tragedy. His warnings were ignored, leading to the period known as the Calamity.

The Calamity

With so much bloodshed inflicted by Kratos and the Gods, the demonic realm (known as the Nether) was able to pierce the veil to Gaia. Shadowlands broke through demonic rifts. Miasma seeped into the land, coalescing into demonic sentience driven by an insatiable thirst for malevolence, yearning to kill or corrupt anything that didn't belong to it.

Demons and monsters awakened, ravaging entire nations, and pushing humanity to the brink of extinction. The Gods' connection to the Divine Realm weakened further, making it much harder to pass through the veil, influence Gaia from beyond, or provide even a third as many Sacraments to their Anointed.

The Gods realized that the demonic invasion could one day reach the Divine Realm if they failed to act. Most were willing to reluctantly set aside centuries of bitter rivalries, setting their sights on finding a safe refuge to reinforce. Endros, occupied by the Astralei under the leadership of Adonis, was the most suitable location for a final bastion of humanity. Adonis, who had warned them of the consequences of their actions, initially denied their entry. He was horrified at the idea of sharing his lands with Kratos and his armies.

But the extinction of humanity was certain if one side did not relent. Kratos was the only God that could easily amass an army to face the demonic hordes, and Valkyrie stood with Kratos. Kratos threatened to eradicate the Astralei if Adonis didn't surrender his lands. Adonis believed Kratos would surely fail, but that the conflict would bring about the final destruction of Gaia anyway. Adonis left Endros, refusing to live in a nation that acknowledged Kratos as a source of authority. The Astralei disappeared, taking most of their secrets with them.

Before leaving Endros, Adonis made several deals with his allies. Most notably, he made a strong alliance with Concordia, Goddess of Pacts, knowing she would uphold her agreements, keep his secrets, and fulfill her obligations dutifully. Concordia was bestowed leadership over Skywood, the capital of Astralei power. She was given precious knowledge of its secrets and control over its levers of power. The specifics of those agreements remain concealed to this day.

The Age of Endros

Endros was now destined to be a final refuge for any surviving cultures. With the assistance of Aedron and the Dwarves, the Gods erected the Great Wall, an enormous, nearly impregnable wall along the eastern frontier. The Great Wall stretched across a 50-kilometer-wide isthmus, where Kratos and his armies stood firmly against the relentless assaults of demons. Nautilus and the Merfolk Navy protected the nation's borders in the sea, and the Adventurer's Guild was responsible for suppressing and eliminating the demonic forces inland.

Endros managed to stand as a stronghold, achieving its purpose, yet efforts to reclaim the rest of Gaia faltered. Though humanity survived, it came with many new conflicts. The convergence of races and traditions that were so hostile in previous ages sat poorly with many people. Monarchs that once wielded great power found themselves in powerful rivalries, struggling to regain lost empires. Many factions and organizations were mobilized to respond to the shifting chaos and power structures.

Six Centuries of Survival

Over the next six centuries, Endros became a civilization built around permanent containment. Kratos and his Titan Order held the eastern front against the endless pressure of the demonic hordes, while the Merfolk held the borders at sea. Varga, Artemis, and the Adventurer's Guild became essential to suppressing demonic activity inland. Dwarven corporations became the industrial backbone of the nation, inventing and producing Aethertech for infrastructure, weapons, transport, and the practical systems that let millions live under siege.

Survival required more than military strength. Lexica imposed a shared language, calendar, and command infrastructure capable of coordinating displaced cultures with rival histories and competing claims to power. Concordia and her Maidens maintained a political system that bound noble ambition within rules even Kratos could accept, allowing conquest, status, and rivalry to exist without collapsing Endros from within. The result was not a restored old world, but a militarized and technologically ambitious one defined by conflict.

The Dark Age

The Dark Age began when a concealed crisis in Skywood destabilized the systems that held Endros together. Public history remembers the next decades as a period of disorder, political violence, demonic escalation, and institutional failure, but the true causes were deliberately removed from common record. The official position is dangerous knowledge from this period could threaten Endros if rediscovered, making certain texts illegal and placing the Archivist's Guild in control of what may be preserved.

The Restoration Age Begins

The Restoration Age began when the Dark Age ended, marking a period of civic recovery for much of Endros. In the decades that followed, cities expanded, institutions recovered, and order restored. Lexica replaced the Founding Calendar. Unofficially, it gave the Archivist's Guild a clean boundary between public history and restricted history, allowing dangerous records to be isolated without forcing citizens to live under the weight of what had happened.

Modern Endros

Our story begins in modern Endros, long after humanity survived extinction, but before anyone can call the world safe. Colonies depend on Adventurers for protection, cities are connected by miracles of Aethertech, nobles and corporations maneuver behind polished laws, the Gods continue to pursue survival through their own imperfect designs, and old powers still shape the present through divine law and secrets that never fully disappeared.